The invention relates to a throttle for liquid or gaseous media, comprised of a turbine which drives a compressor, a pump or a generator.
DE OS 32 05 722 discloses a throttle for gaseous media, namely for the air intake of an internal combustion engine. This makes use of the knowledge that the reduction of the kinetic energy of the flow in the air intake tube, which occurs in load regulation or operation of the load adjusting device, is converted to another form of energy. In this way both the disadvantages of the known throttle valve which comprise an energy loss for the internal combustion engine and the disadvantage of the great structural complexity of the known throttle-less load control or regulation are avoided.
DE OS 32 05 722 discloses a load adjusting apparatus, especially for the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. This load adjusting apparatus is an operating machine with means for exchanging kinetic energy between it and the flow in the air intake tube, wherein this operating ads machine is driven by the air flow at least in the partial-load range of the internal combustion engine. The operating machine can, under certain conditions, also operate as a supercharger.
A disadvantage of this system is to be seen in the fact that a bypass line is necessary. The operating machine is arranged in this bypass line. Both in the bypass line and in the main line throttle valves are provided for controlling the distribution of the air. This makes this system expensive and liable to malfunction due to the mechanical components that it additionally requires.
A disadvantage of the disclosed design is also to be seen in the fact that the throttling of the internal combustion engine is performed very sluggishly.
The invention is therefore addressed to the problem of providing a throttle for liquid or gaseous media, which will have a simple construction and be suitable for a multitude of applications. This object is achieved by a throttling arrangement as as described hereinafter.
The substantial advantage of the invention lies in the fact that the throttling of the liquid or gaseous flow is effected by varying the load state of the turbine.
Through the invention, therefore, the energy which is usually lost at throttle locations, is utilized, namely by a device such as a compressor or a pump, for example, which transforms the energy. For example, with a pump, air can be supplied to a pressure tank. Of course, it is also possible to use the energy made available by the turbine to drive a pump which conveys water, oils or other liquids.
One advantageous embodiment of the invention is that, for example, the energy produced by the turbine can be converted into various forms of energy. Thus it is also possible to convert the energy to thermal energy and to use it for heating or warming a system.
One embodiment of the turbine envisions making it with a bipartite or multipartite casing construction. This is especially advantageous when synthetic resin material is used for the housing; the individual components can be made by injection molding and therefore can be produced at especially low cost.
The turbine can have synthetic resin or metal impellers, and thus the impellers can also be economically manufactured if thermoplastic synthetic resin materials are used.
A further refinement of the invention envisions providing the rotor mountings of the turbine with a resilient construction. Thus the rotor can rotate about the axis of its greatest moment of inertia, and slight imbalances can be compensated. Also, a resilient mounting reduces bearing wear.
An especially advantageous embodiment of the turbine uses unjacketed rotors and a metal shell opposite the rotors is present in a synthetic resin housing. The gap width between the respective rotor and the metal shell can be optimized in the manufacturing process or in the engineering of the design.
An alternative embodiment of the turbine envisions providing the latter with jacketed rotors; labyrinth seals, for example, can be used for sealing relative to the housing.
A supplement to the throttle advantageously comprises, for example, providing a filter for the liquid or gaseous medium at the inflow side or at the outflow side. If the filter is used at the inflow side, it reduces the fouling of the turbine and thereby achieves a longer operating life for the turbine.
These and other features of preferred embodiments of the invention will be found not only in the claims but also in the description and the drawings, it being possible for the individual features to be realized individually or together in the form of subcombinations in embodiments of the invention and in other fields, and can represent advantageous as well as independently patentable embodiments for which protection is hereby claimed.